Definitely a fish getter - and the rigid body prevents fouling. The color choice is great for open water coloration too. I tie a similar fly and use rootbeer or lighter tan for estuary versions of same. Easy to cast too, and very effective on all gamefish who eat 'dem sand eels.

Ok, here is how I tied up the fly.. Actually here is how I would tie the next one, which is more important I'm sure this fly would work with any of the standard materials, but I had just picked up several different types of Angel Hair and was eager to use it.

With the first fly, I put the body on first, and then tied in materials around it. The next time I try this fly, I will try tying in the materials as follows:

1 - Take a small bunch of white wing material and tie in on the bottom of the hook shank. You want to extend the wing material about 2-3 hook lengths beyond the bend, depending on the type of baitfish you are trying to imitate. Use a little longer wing then what you want in the finished fly, as you will trim it down in the last step.

2 - Take another small bunch of white wing material and tie in on top of the hook.

3 - Take flash material and tie in on top of white.

4 - With the backing tape still on, take a piece of holographic tape and fold it in half, roughly the size of the body you want to create. Trace or just cut out the outline of the body cavity you want to create, small and narrow for sand eels, or a little wider for silversides, etc. Try to keep the shape streamlined so that the top wing material will flow over it smoothly and not just go around it.

5 - With the backing still on the tape, test fit the body to see how it fits and looks, making sure to leave plenty of room around the gape of the hook and at the eye.

6 - When you have trimmed it to the right shape, peel off the backing and fold it over the white wing and flash material you tied in earlier. Try to keep the wing material evenly distributed coming out the back of the tape when you fold it over. Depending on the tape, it may or may not stick well enough to stay in place. If not, apply a few drops of zap a gap or any other super glue to get it to hold.

7 - Depending on the profile you want, tie in additional bunches of white winging material at the eye of the hook, over the body, and then finish with the dark wing material over the top.

8 - At this point I decided to apply Loon Hard Head (like Softex) to the body of the fly and the top wing material to tack everything into place. I also applied the eye in this step and used the Hard Head to hold it.

9 - Once that dried, I applied a thin coat of 5 min epoxy to seal the head and body of the fly.

10 - If needed, trim the wing material to form the correct profile. Make sure that you make lots of little cuts and work gradually from the front of the fly to the rear. Make sure that the ends of the wing material dont all line up like a paintbrush.. this is very un-natural looking.

I think it took longer to write these instructions then to tie it

If you guys tie some up like this, make sure to post a picture if you can..

By the way, Juro made some interesting comments on the coloration which I hadn't considered before.. mainly the difference in color between open water sandeels and estuary ones. Seeing as 90% of my fishing is the latter, I will be trying some rootbeer/tan versions